Holidaysdiscovery Omdömen 

will not return ur deposit, genuine fraud, scammers, do not book throught them as host.

Nous avons effectué la réservation de l'appartement sur Booking sans problème. Nous avons été recontactés quelques jours plus tard pour remplir un formulaire avec exactement les mêmes informations que celles déjà laissées sur Booking (coordonnées, heure d'arrivée...) et régler une caution de 250 euros à laquelle s'ajoute une empreinte bancaire de 250 euros également. L'entreprise propose de régler cette caution par le système "swikly" en envoyant un lien par SMS ou sur la messagerie Booking. Ne souhaitant pas passer par cette plateforme pour faire ces démarches et ayant un doute sur le fait que ce soit réellement l'entreprise Holidays Discovery qui nous envoyait ces liens par SMS nous avons contacté le service client par téléphone. Aucun problème pour les joindre et personnes très agréables et compétentes au téléphone. On nous a finalement proposé de prélever la caution par l'intermédiaire de Booking et de ne pas prendre d'empreinte bancaire, ce que nous avons finalement accepté pour plus de simplicité et se sécurité.
L'appartement était vraiment agréable et en très bon état. L'équipement en ustensiles de cuisine était par contre trop sommaire...
Voyant les avis laissés par les autres voyageurs sur Trustpilot concernant le remboursement de la caution nous avons recontacté le service client par téléphone. On nous a alors indiqué que nous allions recevoir le remboursement de la caution au 14ème jour ouvré après notre départ ainsi qu'un un mail confirmant ce remboursement, ce qui a effectivement été le cas. Nous n'avons donc pas eu de difficulté à récupérer la caution.
Il vaut donc peut-être mieux, pour plus de sécurité, que tous les paiements y compris la caution, passent par le même site que celui sur lequel on réserve (Booking, Airbnb...) en appelant le service client et éviter swikly...
Il convient aussi de noter que le service client étant situé en Angleterre les appels font l'objet d'un léger surcoût depuis la France (quelques centimes par minute).
En résumé:
-Un bel appartement, propre et bien situé
-Une procédure de réservation trop complexe (réservation initiale + fiche de renseignement séparée+ caution séparée + empreinte bancaire...)
-Un service client réactif et de qualité
-Pas de difficulté pour récupérer la caution

Nous avons passé un très agréable séjour.

They are just trying to scam you. Don't use it. AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS.

Je confirme les avis précédants : Encaissement de caution de 250€ hors AirBNB mais "obligatoire" pour confirmer la réservation
Le remboursement de cette caution met plus d'un mois à être rendue surtout pour une réservation annulée
J'ai du passer par l'assistance AirBNB pour recevoir ma caution (le lendemain - comme quoi cela peut aller vite)
A la limite de la fraude ; je vous déconseille vivement de réserver chez Holidays Discovery (ils sont aussi sur booking à priori )

The flat was fine, but they required a €250 deposit payment which was not returned. It stated that it would be refunded within 21 days, but despite several requests it is now over a month and they have still not issued a refund. Avoid Holidays Discovery as stealing deposits seems to be their business model.

i had the same problem , did me reservation through booking.com and then they ask me to pay the security deposit of 250€. as you can see the previews comments also mine never refunded the money, and silence . but my review is still active to make it .

Don't ever book apartments managed by Holidays Discovery. They have blamed both Swikly and the owner, but they are the ones holding the deposit. After many communications, they have fallen silent. Many people have had a similar experience with Holidays Discovery, and the despicable, dishonest, disgraceful and fraudulent behaviour has been frustrating, but we remain determined to inform the world of their conduct. In addition, Booking.com has failed us and had been taking bookings from this apartment even though there were serious complaints in the background. Finally, it seems that Bookings.com is now not taking bookings for this apartment, but Holidays Discovery is using other platforms to undertake similar fraudulent activities. Never book any accommodation that has Holidays Discovery attached to it.

THAT PLACE IS FRAUD, THEY NEVER GIVE BACK THE DEPOSIT. I PAID 250 DEPOSIT AND THEY NEVER RETURNED IT.

The flat itself was rather cute and we had a good time staying there. The problem is with the owner HOLIDAY DISCOVERY. They have you pay a security deposit through a third party with the promise of 100% refundable. They do not mention a timeline of return. A few weeks after my trip I realized I never received the deposit back and emailed the host. They gave me the response of “everything is great, but can take us up to 21 business days to refund”. So I waited. I contacted them again after 21 business days and was told “our refunds are currently delayed”. Ok. So I waited 30 business days and email again. Then it’s “it’s with our financial department”. What? At this point I was suspicious and frustrated. I decided to google the host name. Then I found the reviews on trust pilot. I feel like I should have done this from the beginning, but trusted Expedia and the reviews on that website. The problem is, the apartment is cute and folks are reviewing the apartment NOT the host. I also think people review right after their stay, not realizing the host is scamming them out of the deposit. Then it’s too late to go back and change the review. I contacted Expedia who told me to call VRBO. VRBO was really helpful and tried to help me contact the host. They attempted to contact them with no response. They ended up sending me documents so I can fight the charge with my bank. But what a headache!

THEY NEVER RETURN THE DEPOSIT THEY ASK FOR BEFORE THE CHECK IN

Grosse arnaque !! À fuir !!!
Ils ne rendent pas la caution !! Ça fait deux mois que je les relances pour me rendre ma caution de 250 euro et rien ! Même en passant par Airbnb… c’est des voleurs !!

Same issue as everyone else, my deposit of €250 is not being refunded due to lame excuses as a new payment system. It has been nearly 2 months and I am left with no money.

Worst Experience ever. They only told us once we arrived that we had to pay the deposit and promised to give it back within 21 days, but it's been two months, and we still have not received it. We have contacted Airbnb, but they are being useless, and we will push this until we get our Deposit back. This is a scam and fraud.I will contact French authorities to block you from renting out and make sure Everyone knows how fraudulent you are.

If you are reading these reviews because you are currently trying to get your deposit back, it is probably not too late, but you need to act now. I made the same mistake: I booked a property in Paris (April 2026) via Airbnb from Holidays Discovery, paid the €250 deposit via their external third-party link (Swikly), and they refused to return it.

If you have not booked with them yet: AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS. They hold the check-in codes and keys hostage until you pay this external deposit, and once you check out, they will steal your money or ignore you.
The listing says the deposit is refunded "within 21 business days," but this is a deliberate trap designed to buy them time. They use this window to string you along, repeatedly giving the same excuses like "we will check with our finance department."

I successfully forced them to return my deposit 40 days after checkout. It took an aggressive, multi-channel approach. If they are withholding your money, follow these exact steps immediately:

1. Dispute the Charge with Your Bank
Contact your bank/financial institution immediately to initiate a chargeback or report Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Provide all evidence (the Airbnb listing, the Swikly receipt, and screenshots showing they are ignoring you).

2. Involve the Airbnb Resolution Center
Open an official complaint ticket. Explicitly state that Airbnb's platform created a false sense of security by allowing this host to link to an external payment system. Send Airbnb a link to this Trustpilot page to prove it is a systematic, known scam. Push them to escalate it to their Trust & Safety team.

3. File a Formal Complaint with Swikly
Contact Swikly support directly. Send them screenshots of your communication (or lack thereof) with the host. Remind Swikly that they are holding your funds without any active damage claims or legal justification, making them complicit in the host's bad-faith retention of funds.

4. Report to SignalConso (French Authorities)
Because the property is in France, go to signal.conso.gouv.fr and file an official consumer fraud report. Report both Holidays Discovery for illegal withholding of funds, and Airbnb for facilitating off-platform financial fraud.

5. Report to Action Fraud / UK Consumer Agencies
File a report with Action Fraud to get a police reference number, and contact the UK International Consumer Centre (ukecc.net). Use these official reference numbers to apply pressure on Airbnb and the host.

I would recommend reporting them based on below faults:
• Holidays Discovery: For running a systematic deposit-withholding scam against international tourists.
• Airbnb: For allowing predatory external links that bypass AirCover, creating a dangerous trap for customers who trust their platform.
• Swikly: For facilitating these transactions and failing to automatically release funds when a checkout is successful and undisputed.

Be relentless, don't let them keep your hard-earned money!

If only I could give 0 to the Holiday Discovery , I would. Our story was similar to everyone who left their reviews here. The holiday Discovery must have made lots of money via not returning deposit which must be criminal offence. They should be caught and put into jail and throw away the keys. How can this be allowed! The holiday discovery, the holiday horror!

Do not book with this company! We have just had a nightmare trying to get them to refund our deposit.,Thankfully , got this back todsy, but it has taken several weeks.
Ironically the appt we rented was lovely, no issues. The company were both dishonest and evasive.,
Airbnb, you should be sanctioning them!!
I have just received an e mail from Airbnb stating that HolidaysDiscovery have asked them to mediate as we caused damage to thevappt! We absolutely did not and have photo and video evidence. Even worse, Airbnb have sided and agreed with them!!
I already have the refund though, so will be cont my bank to ensure that a watch is placed on my account.
I cannot believed that Airbnb allow ths!

PESSIMA,
eles pedem um valor de 250 euros, como caução, prometem devolver em 21 dias depois da hospedagem, que é o tempo que encerra pra fazer uma avaliação no airbnb, eles nao devolvem o dinheiro e param de responder voce. RESUMINDO ELES ROUBAM VOCE.

Same as everyone else, fighting for my 250eur deposit. they are crooks.

DO NOT BOOK!! They ask you to pay a €250 security deposit that you will NEVER get back. I’ve been chasing them for 1.5 months now, and I’m no longer getting any responses after saying I would take further action. SCAMMERS!!!!!!

Unfortunately reading this too late..
They are keeping my deposit claiming I broke something.

Also did the insurance on the deposit but that looks a scam too since they claim they will not be refunding the deposit.